3- Have you ever lived in a rural environment? if you have, do you think it influenced your mori-ness? if you never have, do you think living in a suburban or urban environment influenced your style any?

Yes, I think all the places I’ve lived have influenced my mori-ness. I grew up in Texas (in a large city, not a rural area) and I never felt like I could wear cute or layered clothes, because it was so hot all the time. But as a kid, I did a lot of “rambling” – poking around in forests, fields and creeks, climbing trees, exploring the city, suburbs and parks on my bike and with friends, and generally wandering around.

Lots of other parts of my childhood helped influence my “mori-ness” a great deal as well…things like my dad’s interest in antique furniture and old books, the books I read (things like Bridge to Terabithia and The Secret Garden), and spending time at my mother’s parents’ home in the middle of the woods in North Carolina.

Day 3 – 10 things you hate in mori.

Hate is such a strong word! There’s nothing I outright hate, but there’s some stuff that doesn’t apply to me and things that grate a bit, so that’s what I’ll write about…

1. It’s been discussed elsewhere in many more eloquent ways, but there’s a lot of homogeneity in depictions of mori fashion as it’s making its way into our culture, and I find that troubling. For me, mori is about a feeling, and embracing one’s inner self. It’s wrong to try to limit a movement to one body type, or one skin color, or to enforce rules about how people should look or dress to be considered a part of it. Little Forest Girl posted about this, and another of my favorite mori bloggers quit Tumblr because she was getting so much grief over her appearance. That’s the antithesis of the mori spirit, to me.

2. There are many mori looks that I don’t think are flattering, especially on me. I always have to have a defined waist, and too many layers don’t look great with my figure.

3. One thing I do hate is the use of fur in this fashion style. I’ll never reblog anything with fur, and I try to avoid sharing images of leather, pinned butterflies, taxidermy, etc…I don’t really mind faux, though.

4. I think that all the whites, creams, beiges, pinks and other pastel colors are beautiful (like little macaroons!), but they don’t appeal to me for my own fashion, which currently includes a lot of dark colors. (Maybe that’s something I can experiment with this spring/summer…)

5. Not a fan of the massive neck accessories associated with dolly and natural kei, like drapery tassels or teddy bears.

6. The internet puts a lot of pressure on people to be lovely and perfect and beautiful all the time, and mori fashion is no exception. I feel the pressure to always be presenting my “best face” and spend a lot of time picking out just the right pictures to post on here. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s useful to remember that nobody’s perfect, and that lots of what you see is an idealized illusion. (This article on the same topic has some good examples.)

Well, that’s only six things, but it’s all I can think of right now. I’ll update this post if there’s ever anything else!